My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade
"World of Warcraft, The Marketing Mix, Stalking, A Psychological breakdown and now Heartburn, all in the same lyrics!" Says it all really...
"When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city To see a marching band. He said, "Son when you grow up, would you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned?" He said "Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non believers, the plans that they have made? Because one day I'll leave you A phantom To lead you in the summer, To join the black parade.""
It appears that Gerard Ways (lead singer of My Chemical Romance, and apparently not a massive fan of the Daily Mail) father is trying to encourage little Gerrie to indulge in an online game of some sort, where he has been protecting him - sponsoring him, if you will - until now. Presumably for copyright and trademark purposes this game isn't mentioned, but it's probably World of Warcraft or something like that. The Black Parade is probably a name for a super clan (for that is surely what these things are called? Its hardly going to be referred to as a collective or a gathering in the uber-Geek world of World of Warcraft. Not that World of Warcraft players are all geeks, obviously. Though for the purposes of the hate mail I may receive then yeah, all World of Warcraft fans are geeks. There?). It could also suggest that lil' Gerrie will grow up to be Mr Way, marketing chief for World of Warcraft, what with the "defeat...non-believers" statement. Ultimately though, whether or not it really is about Gerries future experiences with online gaming, it is a rather bleak statement - but bleak in a nice way.
"Sometimes I get the feeling, she's watching over me And other times I feel like I should go Went through it all, the rise and fall The bodies in the streets And when you're gone we want you all to know"
And here I was expecting a piece on the potential future marketing strategies for World of Warcraft! But no, Gerard Way appears to be harbouring concerns about a potential female stalker, and whilst he feels like he should go - he is confused. Not hard, he's gone from being a marketing executive at World of Warcraft to a Stalking Victim within just a few lines, and this means he is unsure of where to go. Indeed, it appears Mr Way is having a psychological breakdown, spouting out random clichés before the ominous closing line. Quite what Mr. Way is trying to suggest here I do not know, but this is just bleak for bleaks sake really.
"We'll carry on, We'll carry on And though you're all dead and gone believe me Your memory will carry on We'll carry on And in my heart I can't contain it The anthem won't explain it"
It appears that My Chemical Romance plan to carry on. I am now not entirely sure who Gerard Way is addressing this song to, however one assumes that this particular subject is dead - or with these particular fragments of grammar, one should assume that Gerard is actually addressing multiple subjects. This would also explain the lack of any names (recording studios are expensive, presumably there just isn't time to read them all out) or indeed any cause of death. I would like to think that they died in their sleep, but that's just being picky. Gerard however then moans that his heart can't contain it (this feeling of an inablity to contain within the aortic pump is often confused with heartburn - this writer recommends that Gerard tries Alka-Seltzer Heartburn Relief Tablets, they really are smashing), and that this particular song just won't be able to explain it. Woah! What a song! World of Warcraft, The Marketing Mix, Stalking, A Psychological breakdown and now Heartburn, all in the same lyrics!
"A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams Your misery and hate will kill us all So paint it black and take it back Let's shout it loud and clear Defiant to the end we hear the call"
Gerard Way appears to be somewhat bitter towards the world. He doesn't actually back up his argument with any clear, concise points - so as such it's really a bit of an unsubstantiated statement. Apparently our misery and hate will kill everyone - well. That, or global warming, but that depends on who you want to listen to - Al Gore, Gerard Way or Jeremy Clarkson. In themselves hardly three names commonly linked with one another. Anyway, whilst Gerard Way may have a slight point here, he doesn't provide enough statistics to render it valid. As is so often the case with Gerard "Oh, I'll make outlandish statements but won't provide you with any specifics" Way, he then makes yet another ambiguous statement referring to painting something black - perhaps with Dulux paint. Neither the brand of paint nor the actual potentially freshly painted object are specified. Neither is the chant that they are shouting loud and clear (it's hardly going to be clear if no-one actually knows what they're shouting? Surely it will just be noise). And, as ever, they are defiant until the very last gasp breath at the end - but defiant towards what? Whilst Gerard may have once been a choir singer, he certainly has not studied any aspects of structured debating in his lifetime.
"And though you're broken and defeated Your weary widow marches On and on we carry through the fears Oh oh oh"
The widow of the subject (it is now becoming increasingly clear that Gerard Way is addressing this towards someone's grave) appears to be marching in some sort of protest march - unless of course The Black Parade is not an online gaming clan and refers to some sort of actual Black Parade, involving widows. But that's just a ridiculous idea.
"Disappointed faces of your peers Oh oh oh Take a look at me 'cause I could not care at all Do or die You'll never make me Because the world will never take my heart Go and try; you'll never break me We want it all, we want to play this part"
The co-workers of the deceased subject appear to be disappointed; somewhat of a relief, as we would not like to think of this subject as being so unpopular that his death sparks minimal sympathy. Yet now Gerard pays the subject a huge insult - he has revealed that he doesn't care at all! He appears to have traveled to the subject's grave in order to mock him, and this is indeed an act befitting the lowest of the low. The subject is then informed that he will never make Gerard - this writer believes this to mean that this deceased subject will never have any influence over Gerard's life, a pretty big statement. He also informs us that he does not want to become involved in a heart transplant at all - quite a selfish act really, his death could yet prove the saving point for someone else. After proving himself to be a thoroughly selfish chap, Gerard then reveals that there is a part "they" are all wanting to play - is Gerard planning at this point to audition for Any Dream Will Do? Because I certainly think he would have done well, had he done so.
"I won't explain, or say I'm sorry I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar Give a cheer, for all the broken Listen here, because it's who we are I'm just a man; I'm not a hero Just a boy, whose meant to sing this song I'm just a man; I'm not a hero I Don't Care!"
Annoyingly now Gerard has revealed that he has no intentions to explain his actions or presumably his lyrics; once again, showing that he just doesn't have the statistics to back up his points. He hasn't even revealed the part (or even the production!) which he was previously considering auditioning for; making me think it may have been a bit of a red herring as far as lines go. He then makes a claim here (in my eyes) to be Harry Potter - a boy who frequently claims that he is not a hero (something I reckon he should do, for as chat up lines go, it's a pretty good one - "Hey, I'm Harry Potter. I defeated the dark lord of the wizarding world - twice - and I've gotta say I'm a bit of a god on the quidditch field - and off it, if ya get what I mean"), and of course has that infamous scar.
And finally, for the last time, it appears that he also doesn't care - about anything, or indeed about his heavily incoherent song writing style. Or about petrol prices.
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